The Love of a Child
by Mord Sith Matt
Summary: Sometimes, the only thing you need is the Love of a child and a New Beginning. Read to find out the rest.
1. Chapter 1

_**I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. I own Noggy, Nina, Niles, and Jeeves. Don't touch Noggy.**_

_**A New Beginning**_

**Chapter One: The Connection**

It was storming outside; he hated driving in the rain. Visibility had decreased and the only reason he could see the other cars was because their lights. He was glad his restraunt and domestic violence center he owned wasn't far from his house. Squall Leonheart pulled up into his driveway, his house was dark. Tomorrow his best friend Tidus Angelos would come over and spend his birthday with him. They had grown up together and worked at the same place. They were like brothers. Tidus worked on the computers at the domestic violence center. He would also help upstairs in the kitchen sometimes. Squall grabbed his briefcase of papers and reports and got out of his car, the wind blew rain into the car, Squall grumbled. He closed the door with the help of the wind it slammed. The rain made it feel like a night in spring rather than a night in mid summer. He walked up his porch; it was a small nice porch on a Victorian house. He pulled out his keys, and was unlocking when he thought he heard his name over the roar of the rain. Squall turned and saw two figures walking toward his home. One looked to be an adult and the other a child, Squall didn't know who they were but stood there and waited for then to come to him. He shivered from being wet and cold. He could hear his Doberman clawing the front door waiting for him. His dog was the only person who lived in his house. They walked up his stairs; the two were in rain coats that covered their faces with shadows. The young child was close on the older person's heels, like he would be left behind if he wasn't that close.

"Mr. Leonheart?" The older person's honey voice came, it was a woman. Squall nodded to her question.

"May we come in? I need to talk to you about something." Squall nodded again; he turned and finished unlocking his door. Baron his red Doberman was giddy, when he walked through the door, he was cautious of the strangers with Squall. He led the two people into his living room around the corner form his door. As he walked by it he threw his keys onto the little table by the door. He sat on his couch, knowing he was getting it wet, but it would dry. The boy sat on the floor next the woman's legs. She had a head of thick red hair and had striking yellow eyes. Her face held the wrinkles of a woman in her fifties, but she couldn't be that old, she didn't have any other signs of age. The wrinkles were probably from her line of work. The boy, on the other hand, had chestnut hair and bright blue eyes, with a green center. His eyes were red and puffy, probably form crying. His face held innocence, but Squall could see the mature features probably from stress. His wasn't very prominent and if it wasn't for Squall's training with children he probably wouldn't notice it.

"I'm Gail Garrison. I am a social worker, and I have had trouble finding a place for young Sora here. He lost his parent to a car crash last month. I've had him at my house because I didn't want him put in five or six foster homes, I can't keep him from the system anymore. I was approached today and told he needed a home or they would put him in one. I know you work at the center, I'm sure you've seen what happens to children who are moved around a lot. So I'm here to ask you to take Sora, and raise him if you can. Will you take him?"

Squall looked at the little boy, Squall could do it. But he was after all only 20 years old, he had a whole life ahead of him. He couldn't just set everything down and raise someone else's kid, but looking at this kids face showed Squall he didn't want to be shuffled around. So Squall said,

"I'll take him."

It took three hours to sign all the paperwork and check his house but everything was ok and he was able to have Sora that night.

Gail was leaving and for the first time that night Sora spoke,

"Bye Gail". He ran and wrapped his arms around her waist. She patted his back and said,

"Bye to you to Sora. I'll be back every month to check on you. Be good for Squall, ok?" He nodded against her waist. He stepped away and waved to her till she was out of site. Sora turned and looked at Squall, who was yawning. 'Now what am I going to do, I have a little six year old boy in my house'

"Time for bed squirt" Squall said as he stood up.

"I'm not tired," Sora said as he rubbed his eye and yawned.

Squall smiled and said,

"Sure kid. Let's get you to bed."

The walked up the stairs and Squall decide on the way up the stairs to put Sora in the spare room next to his. He opened the door to a plain room, with a queen sized bed and a dresser in it. A small table sat next to the bed, a lamp sat on it. Squall turned on the light and got out some clothes from the dresser. He gave Sora a white t-shirt that was too small for him and a pair of drawstring pants. Sora clutched them to his chest and looked at Squall with the big puppy dog eyes.

"If you have to use the bathroom it is across the hall. My room is the next room over. I'll leave the bathroom light on."

Squall was leaving and stopped,

"Need a drink or a snack before bed?"

Sora shook his head causing his long chestnut hair to get in his face. Squall smiled and closed the door. He walked across the hall and turned on the light. He went into his room put on a wife beater and a pair of boxers and laid in his bed listening to the rain and thunder till he fell to sleep. He was awoken in the middle of the night to poking and his name being whispered.

"What's the matter Sora?" He asked sleepily. Lightning flashed and Sora cringed but he jumped at the thunder.

"The storm scaring you?"

Sora nodded. Squall lifted up his blanket, as Sora's face brightened. He climbed into bed and snuggled close to Squall.

"Just this once though kid."

Sora was fast asleep by the time Squall said this, he had snuggled really close the Squall and felt safe in his embrace. It was the safest he'd felt since he dad was alive.

Squall woke up to the alarm clock. It was blaring its annoying beep. It was five o clock in the morning. Five hours of sleep was never enough for him, but he would live, he'd gone to work on two hours of sleep before. He rolled out of bed; somehow, Sora stayed sleeping, so Squall moved quietly to the bathroom so as not to wake him. He bathed himself in fifteen minutes as normal and dried off. He clothed himself in his checked dress pants and his black Chef's coat with a moose on the pocket. He walked into his room turning on his light, walked over to his dresser and picked up his wallet and cell phone. Sora grunted at the light and threw the blankets over his head. The made Squall laugh, he walked over and yanked the blankets off the bed,

"Wakie Wakie Eggs and bakey" Squall said. Sora glared at Squall and asked,

"Why?" he put his bottom lip out in a pouting motion. He looked cute,

"Because, I have to go to work and you have to come with me. So go get some breakfast and I'll get you some clothes." Sora grumbled but complied with Squall's orders. Once he was out of the room, Squall took out his cell phone and called Tidus.

When he answered, Squall said

"Good morning sunshine. Are you on your way to the restraunt?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'm going to be running a little late, so I need you to unlock and get it ready for the morning."

"Ok, no problem. Bye"

Squall closed his flip phone and walked up to the attic where he grandmother would have put his clothes from when he was younger. He had been raised by his grandmother, his parents had left him with her we he was a baby. She was a good lady, she won the lottery at ten million dollars when he was a senior in high school, she didn't send the money on herself, for a new house or anything for herself, she used it to put him through college so he could follow his dreams. While he was away at college, she built the restraunt and domestic violence center, for him. She died a month after he graduated and opened the restraunt. She had left him everything. At the funeral was thee first time he met his parents, they were there to see what she left them. He gave them what she left them, nothing. He hadn't seen them since. He found a box marked SQUALL'S CLOTHES. He opened it and found shirts, pants and socks. He picked it up and carried it downstairs with him. He walked through the dining room into the kitchen, Sora had an empty bowl and was staring at it like food was just appear if he looked at it long enough. Squall cocked an eyebrow,

"Waiting on the cereal?"

Sora looked up and smiled.

Squall set the box down and went into the pantry; he found the Captain Crunch Peanut Butter that he ate every morning. He got himself a bowl and when he turned back around, he saw Sora pilfering through the box, with Baron's help

"Who told you, you could pilfer through that box?"

Sora shot out of the box and looked like a dog that had been caught getting into something. Baron continued to look through the box. This brought a smile to his face, the boy looking like the dog should and the dog doing what the boy should've been doing.

"It's ok, Sora, those are your now anyways. Pick out what you like and after breakfast, put them on. Ok?"

Sora nodded and sat back down in his chair. The second the first piece of cereal hit the bowl, Baron's head snapped out of the box and looked at the table. He sat down and put his paw up. Squall just sat and ate his cereal with Sora. Drool hung from Baron's jaw. Squall wiped it away when he finished eating. Sora, looked through the box after he finished and found an outfit and took off upstairs with it, Baron on his heels.

'At least Baron has taking a liking to the kid.' He heard Sora laughing with Baron, upstairs. Squall smiled as he did dishes and out everything up. He walked over to the door picked up his keys and put them in his pocket. Squall was on his way down with socks and shoes on. 'At least he knows what to do' Squall thought. Sora had faded jeans and a shirt that bore a dragon and a surf board on. That had been Squall's favorite outfit. Squall slipped on his black shoes and led Sora outside but not before grabbing his suitcase. They got in Squall's blue Ford Focus and drove to the restraunt called New Beginning. The morning staff was already inside and getting ready for the breakfast rush. Squall parked in his spot, the ground and air was damp still for the storm the night before. When they came inside Tidus was turning and setting the cash register up. He looked up and smiled, the he frown at the kid. Squall walked right by and told Sora to sit in his office while he checked on everything.

"What's with the kid? A victim?" Tidus asked as Squall came out into the dinning room.

"No, DCF turned him over to me as a guardian. He's mine."

"Guess the want to give you a birthday gift too." Tidus laughed at his bad joke.

Squall shook his head,

"Don't quit your day job."

The both laughed, Then Tidus off handedly said

"Happy Birthday Mr. 21 today."

Squall nodded and went to the kitchen with Tidus on his heels. He checked on his workers and what they were doing then decided that his sue chef Danny had everything under control. He entered his office and picked up all the paperwork and his briefcase and motion at Sora to follow him. The got in the elevator at the back of the restraunt and rode it to the domestic violence center underneath the restraunt. He walked out with Sora hot on the back of his legs, he was sure Sora would step on his shoes but he never did, he seemed scared by this place. Many children and women called it home though. He walked through the first glass door after being given clearance. He walked up the short hall way and the door was already unlocked electronically for him. He walked into the waiting room, where Rebecca the receptionist was sitting with the button for all the doors. She was typing at her computer and smiled at him and Sora as they walked by. She was a cheery woman but not very talkative, but if you got her to talk she never shut up. She was good at talking to people when they called and need to find shelter and safety though. She without even looking at the controls pressed the unlock button for the final door. This door led to the hall ways of housing and counseling. Squall walked past many of the closed door a few were open and as he waked by the councilor would say hi and go back to what they were doing. No one had any appointments this early. Squall pulled out his keys and unlocked his door, when it open they were in a room made just for kids. Toys and stuff animals were everywhere. Tables and chairs kid size was randomly placed in the room. Four door were in this room, one to Squall's office were he counseled and worked, the two were storage rooms and one was a video room. Sora's face brighten and he looked up at Squall, who nodded know the silent question, because every child asked it

'Can I play with this stuff?'

Sora ran into the room and began playing with random things. Squall pulled out his card key to unlock his office door, his card key to remove his first lock and his keys for the second. The third and final lock was a code, he typed it in and the door clicked open. He waked over to his computer and turned it on setting his briefcase down beside his desk. He sat in his black leather chair and prepare for his day ahead of him.

Nina, his day receptionist's voice sounded from Squall's intercom.

"Squall, your two o clock is here."

"Send him in" Squall replied.

A short time later boy about fifteen years old walked in. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. When his office door open Squall saw Sora playing with the legos he was building a castle. The boy closed the door and sat down in Squall's rocking couch. He had called three days ago and told Squall he had been molested by his brother, he was there to deal with it and to get his brother into jail. His brother was twenty. The talked about the options and what would happen with each and what the boy want to see done. The boy's brother that had been molesting him since the age of six. He still lived in his house. His father was physically and verbally abusive. They called the report hotline. The boy was told to stay at the center and that his family members would be taken into custody. The boy cried for about ten minutes on Squall's shoulder then he was taken by another counselor and shown around. Squall then told Sora to come with him up stairs. The rode the elevator up to the kitchen, it was bustling with activity for the lunch rushes. Chefs and waiters were rushing here and there, picking up this and that. The maneuvered through the busy people out to the dining room, Squall turned and handed his keys to Sora,

"Go open the car and sit down I'll be along shortly, lock the door and don't open them for anyone. We are going to lunch, then out shopping." Sora nodded and walked to the car. Squall walked back into his kitchen and told Tidus he'd be back at four. Which was an hour an a half from the current time. Squall walked back through the kitchen and as he walked out he saw a woman with a man, who wasn't one of his waiter's standing over her. The woman looked uncomfortable. Suspecting something bad, he walked over and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late honey; my break can never come soon enough at this place." Squall laughed and the woman played along.

"No problem baby. How was your day?"

"Good, Can I help you?" Squall said looking at the man. He looked disappointed and anger at the same time. He walked away without a word.

"Thank you, that man was asking me out and has been for weeks. I keep saying no and telling him I'm taken."

The woman's voice was honey soft and beautiful. She had beautiful brown green eyes. Her hair was dark brown and shining in the light.

"No problem. I would hate to have someone hurt under my roof."

The woman looked surprised.

"You own this marvelous restraunt? I come here everyday. The food is beyond any I've tasted."

"Thank you. We try." Squall motioned the waiter for the area over.

"Mark, this lady's meal is on the house. Give her what ever she wants and put the bill on my desk."

Mark nodded and left. The woman thanked Squall greatly before he left to go out with Sora. This afternoon would be a bundle of surprises for everyone.

The pulled up to the drive through on McDonalds. The voiced called through the intercom,

"Good afternoon, welcome to McDonalds how may I help you?"

"Give me a kid's meal with a chocolate shake. The drink is Mountain Dew. Then give me a chicken sandwich grilled. That drink is a Dr Pepper."

"Is that all going to be all for you sir?"

"Yes"

"7.98 is your total. Pull up to the window."

The pulled up and Squall paid. The waved him to the next window where they were handed their food. Squall put it next to him and drove into a parking space. He passed out the food and they ate. Sora seemed to be enjoying the toy. After they finished Squall handed Sora some towelets and they wiped their hands and faces off. They arrived at the mall that was three miles down the street. It was full of people.

"Stay close to me." Squall said. They were walking toward the door where a large group of people were entering, smoking and leaving. Sora got real close to Squall's waist and grabbed his hand. Squall gave it a squeeze to reassure Sora that everything was alright. They walked around going in and out of stores; Sora come to find out was a picky shopper. Some of the things he did and said in the stores made Squall burst out in laughter. After they had gotten two weeks of shirts, sock, pants, and boxers. The got another pair of shoes for Sora. Squall made some stops to pick some things up for the restraunt and domestic violence center. Books for children and adults along with furniture. The furniture would be delivered, while he would take the books. He drive back was slow because traffic had double in amount since they had left. When they finally got back to the restraunt the doors were locked for cleaning and resetting before dinner. Squall having the key opened the door and walked in. The dining room had been redone and everything looked wonderful. The candles for dinner had been lite and the tables were set and ready. The kitchen wasn't anywhere near the chaos it had been when he'd left, it was calm and some people, namely the waiter's were on break. The chefs were cooking and some of them even were sitting down. Squall checked on the food and made sure everything that was in the steam tables to be kept warm was at the right temperature. It was and so he went down stairs to the center. Nina unlocked all the doors for him. She was a nice woman, they had meet in collage she had like Tidus and the two were engaged now. Nina had a good personality and had study psychology with him; they both had their masters in psychology. Squall told Sora to go to his office, he handed him the keys and Sora complied willingly. Squall sat down in front of Nina after Sora left.

"How's the day been?"

"Good, rather quite. What's with the little boy following you around?"

"When I got home last night the DCF lady was waiting for me and begged me to take him, I couldn't refuse. He's a good kid, funny and makes me have something new in my day." Squall said.

The two talked about this and that, nothing of any real importance, just friendly chatter. Squall walked in and Sora had gone right back to the castle he had been working on. It was well built, it looked strong. Squall smiled and walked into his office, he was signing forms and reading the money reports for the restraunt, when he heard Sora let out a shrill cry and then some laughing that wasn't his. Squall spun his chair around and walked into the room, Sora was laying on his back with tears coming down his cheeks and an older boy, which Squall didn't recognize was standing where Squall's castle had been. The castle was completely destroyed but it would take some time to rebuild. Squall's face darken, he hated people bulling the younger ages but most of all he hated when that kid belonged to him.

"Hey, why did you do that?" Squall's voice was hard.

The kid looked at Squall with a look of fear on his face, he didn't respond to Squall's question.

"I'm assuming your staying at this shelter that I own, while under my roof respect other people and my son most of all, or I'll have the social work put you somewhere else understood?"

The kid nodded and walked out of the room quickly. Squall bent down and gathered all the castle pieces together,

"What say you to rebuilding this mighty castle? I can help you make in stronger so that way no one can kick it and it be destroyed."

Sora looked at Squall as if to find a lie in his words but seeing none started to look away but Squall put his hand to his face and wiped the tears off. Sora smiled and hugged him, knocking the crouching Squall down. Squall grunted when he hit the floor but laughed, he tickled Sora to get him off. After the wrested for a while the two started to rebuild the castle. They made little solider and town people even war machines. Squall made his own army and the two played with the castle. Squall was invading Sora's castle but his mighty army and wall proved to be too much for Squall's rag tag army. Squall made his own castle and Sora invaded it, Squall's was no match for the power of the great Sora's army and war machines. Sora's armies had many victories by the time they stopped playing somewhere close to eight. Squall heard Sora's stomach growl, so they gather up their things and locked the doors and left but not before Squall invited Nina to dinner, she was leaving, and Rebecca was taking over. Nina agreed to come and they all enjoyed their dinner. Sora had pizza while Squall had shrimp and pasta. Nina had a huge bowl of Brussels sprouts smothered in cheese. Squall told Nina to hold on that he would walk her out to her car, after he told everyone what to do to finish up the night. He told them that everything needed cleaning and that any waitresses or female chef were to have a male escort out of the building. They knew but Squall always told them anyways. They were walking by the ally towards the staff parking when both Nina and Squall heard a scream, that wasn't very loud and sounded muffled. Squall told Sora not to move and with Nina went into the dark ally, two figures could be seen, when was pressing the other against the wall. The one figure must have seen them because he turned slightly and produced something, Squall knew what it was, he could seen the glint of the barrel, it fired and Nina let out a cry and dropped her gun, that she brought to work everyday. Squall quickly moved and grabbed it, he had excellent marksmanship and fired hitting the other person's gun, and they let out a scream and dropped it. Squall ran and tackled the man; he rolled on the ground and struggled but with only one hand he could fight of Squall who was much bigger and fitter than this man. Squall rolled him over and held his hands behind his back till Nina walked over holding her arm. She grabbed the man and because he was bigger than her she brought his arms up and pushed on them till the almost popped out of place, so he would struggle unless he wanted to hurt himself. Squall called the police and made sure the woman was alright. It was the woman from early,

"Twice I've saved you from that guy, you should be more careful. Name's Squall." He held out his hand to her she shook it and said

"Thanks, I owe you. Name's Aerith." He smiled.

"My name is Squall. Are you ok?"

"A little shaken up but I'll be fine."

"Well, I'd like you to come into tomorrow about six pm and see me. Here, that way we can talk and work things out. I'd stay and talk to you tonight but I have to get my son home."

He went to get Sora, several officers were standing over him, and he was whining and cringing away from them. One of them tried to grab his arm to still Sora; he let out a cry and tried to pull away, from him. He held on and said something to him, whatever he said Sora didn't believe or like. He began to cry, and tried to get away but just could because the cop was bigger and stronger. Three of Squall's security guards had come out side and saw Sora and the cop they walked over and stood beside Squall.

"Is there a problem officer? Why are you holding my son like he is a criminal?"

The officer looked up and smiled,

"I had no idea he was yours I'm sorry." He let go of Sora, who without a second of waiting time, fled behind Squall's leg. He was hugging it and crying. Squall knew that Sora's parent were killed in a car accident but he was unsure why that cop had made Sora so unnerved, like he had seen him before. Maybe it was just the lights and sirens that made him uncomfortable. The cop walked into the ally way to his comrades. Squall bent down and hugged Sora and was cooing him.

Aerith was standing over him,

"For being a Chef you a pretty good dad. I bet you're a good husband too."

Squall looked at her.

"I'm not marry, this one adopted but I won't treat him any less because he's adopted, that's wrong."

Aerith looked surprised at his statement that he was married but smiled at his other statement.

"I can't believe a man who is as cute and caring as you isn't married."

Squall blushed, he was glad it was dark outside. He laughed; no one had ever called him cute before. The police came over asking for an explanation of what had taken place so he explained what happened as did Aerith. Aerith was escorted to her car by Niles Jeeves and Noggy, the three security guards. Squall put Sora in the car, then he asked his three guards to tell him what they saw the cop do, and if the heard anything. They explained what happened when Squall saw the cop and when he touched him. He nodded and thanked them; they went back to their stations inside. Then Squall went home; Sora only woke to walk to the car and into the house, once inside he was asleep quickly in his own bed. Baron had climbed into bed with Sora and was snuggling close to him. Squall watched him sleep and then went to bed smiling, this was the happiest he'd been since his grandmother had been alive. He wanted to know about Sora's real past and would find out, but for now he would sleep.

Twice that Squall had saved her from that man. She hadn't lied when she'd called him cute, he was. His slightly curly brown hair that went to his nape but if he straightened it would go a little more. His eyes were a dazzling color of blue. The little boy that traveled with him was cute, his chestnut hair and blue eyes. She couldn't believe that Squall wasn't married or that the child didn't belong to him. She thought about Squall all night till she fell to sleep. In her dreams he saved her again. When she woke on that Saturday morning she was still thinking about him, his memory would fade so easily. She looked the window of her apartment sipping at her coffee thinking of him.

This is a private story too. I decided to make it a Fan fiction. If you like this and want to see the original, just ask. I'm going a different way with the original; this one is going to make a different turn at the light than the original. Please Read and review, I like compliments but if you don't like tell me what you don't like. DON'T FLAME ON ME OR DIE. Thank you that is all.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of it's characters**_

_**Chapter Two: Friends and Starlight**_

Squall had turned his alarm clock of, it was Saturday, and he was off. He was sleeping peacefully when something heavy landed on his chest. Squall grabbed Sora and stilled him,

"Please stop jumping on me"

Sora continued to bounce in Squall's strong embrace. Sora's long chestnut hair was in disarray.

"Come watch cartoons with me, please oh please." Sora begged.

"Ok, ok just get off." Sora was pleased with the answer and climbed off Squall.

Sora ran back down stairs and Squall put on a pair of moose pajama bottoms. He walked down stairs and Sora was already on the floor wiggling back and forth watching as battles of magic and monsters ragged on the cartoons. Baron laid next to him. Squall walked into the kitchen, picking up his tea kettle and put water in it. He put it on the stove and got out two bowls and filled them with cereal. His kettle was screaming at him by the time he'd finished with the cereal. He put a tea bag into his coffee cup and made tea. He set it down on the table to cool; he got out some pans for eggs and bacon. While his bacon cooked he scabbed some eggs. He plated the bacon and eggs, and then made toast and put it in the center of the table. He turned on the TV in the kitchen and tuned it to the cartoon station and called Sora to breakfast. He ran and sat down; he never looked at his food, just picked it up with the fork and put it in his mouth. Eyes glued to the TV. Squall remembered when he could've done that. He was half way through his breakfast when his doorbell rang; Baron barked and ran to the door. Squall got up and went to the door. Baron was sitting at the door. Squall opened the door, it was Nina and Tidus.

"Good morning what are you doing today?" Tidus asked, as he stepped through the door.

"Nothing, just hanging out with the kid. Haven't thought what I wanted to do today."

"We're going to the movies at noon and wanted to know if you would come with us." Squall thought about it and agreed. He said he'd meet them at the movies. He closed the door and went back to breakfast; Sora was almost done when he walked back in. Squall sat down and told Sora they were going to the movies, he nodded and said

"That's cool"

He finished put his pate in the sink and ran back to the living room. Squall shook his head. After the dishes were done, Squall went up stairs. He got out the bills that he had, from the restraunt and the Domestic violence center and of course his personal bills. He wrote some checks recorded this and that and enveloped and stamped all the bills. He stacked them and put a rubber band around them. He got dressed and walked down stairs; Sora was till on the couch. It was a quarter past eleven.

"Go get dressed Sora. I'll tape this for you. We are going to the movies in fifteen minutes." Sora turned and pouted but complied. Squall put the blank tape in the VCR and hit the record button. A few minutes later Sora was coming down the stairs in jeans and a t-shirt. He had a slight frown on his face but Squall knew that frown would turn into a smile soon.

Josh Merkty and Kaya Telkay were part of DCF. Tyler Gamsion's file had passed their desks, they were his social workers. He had been given back to his father. His father was a drunk and a drug abuser, he gone to counseling and his son returned. This shouldn't have happened, the child had flourished in foster care, and his father beat him bloody before the foster care. Kaya had a suspension that the father would do the same so they were going to the house now to investigate. The arrived at the ten story apartment building. Kaya walked in front, they went up four stories and over twenty doors. She knocked and the door opened slightly.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Kaya Telkay. Remember I'm the social worker in charge of Tyler."

"What do you want?"

"I'm performing a surprise inspection on young Tyler."

"Do you have a warrant?"

"I don't need one. I am a warrant. Now open the door and let me in."

The door opened to reveal a slightly trashed house with food and drinks everywhere.

"I'm sure you know detective Merkty. He is here with me to help inspect."

John scratched the back of his head. He looked around nervously; this didn't go unnoticed by the social workers. Kaya walked around the living room and saw something that looked suspicious. She picked it up and smelled it,

"If I correct this is Marihuana." She handed it to Josh who smelled it and it was marihuana.

"There were some people over last night and…"his sentence dropped off.

"Then you won't mind taking a urine sample for Detective Merkty."

"No, I not taking any urine sample. That's ridiculous."

"But taking drug test is part of the deal with getting your son back. Please note detective that he refused to take a drug test. I'm searching your house now" Kaya took off to search the house but John got in her way when she came to a doorway.

"Get out of my house, your intruding. I want you to leave now."

"Kaya let's just leave, we can come back later"

"Listen to him lady, get out of my house."

"What's in that room that you don't want us to see?"

He moved his arm to point and she quickly slipped under his arm and opened the door that was after the game room, into Tyler's room. Josh was still with John outside the game room; Tyler was lying on his bed. His eye was swollen shut, his face bloody; his bed was covered in his blood. His white shirt was also red.

"Detective….get in here."

"Kaya how many laws are we breaking by coming into his house and…"

"Your cop friend knows your breaking the law, so get out of my…." Both men fell silent when they entered the room.

"John Gamison I am taking Tyler into emergency protective care. He is no longer in your control. "

"The hell you are lady…"

"Take one more step into this room and I'll pull out my gun and shoot you in the heart." Was all Josh said, John backed off instantly.

Kaya wrapped Tyler in his blankets and carried him out of the room; she glared at John as she walked out. They put Tyler in her car and called three people, the police, the hospital and Squall.

They were just about to go into the movie when Squall's phone vibrated at his side. He answered it and heard the news. Tyler had been one of the many kids at his shelter. He was very anger when Tyler was given back to his father. He said he'd be at the hospital when they got there. He told Nina and Tidus to watch out for Sora and that he'd had to go to the hospital because of Tyler. He got in his car and drove to the hospital. He sat out in the waiting room; he had been there for an hour when he saw a familiar face. Arieth was walking out of the hospital.

"Hey Arieth. What are you doing here?"

"Hi, my mom is sick and I was here visiting her. Why are you here Sora ok?"

"Yeah, just a client of mine is really hurt and I came to make sure he was ok. He's going to lose his spleen."

Arieth said sorry and that she had to go to get some groceries before their appointment together. Squall told her to be well and he'd see her at six.

Arieth was an interesting woman. Her past wasn't horrible, but it was difficult. Her mother mentally abused her and her father was a work-ohllic. Her parents divorced when she was ten, during the divorce her mom wasn't home most of the time and left her with a female babysitter, who molested her. It happened for three years, then her babysitter moved away. She fell in love once, but that man she had loved died. He had brain cancer, he was a teacher. She had no kids with him, but he had a son, that she now had custody of. They had been married six months before he died. The session was going good; Arieth was really open to Squall and seemed to be happy having someone to tell her life to. Squall's phone rang, it wouldn't ring unless it was an emergency, and Rebecca wouldn't let it. Squall gave Arieth a hold on signal, and walked over to the phone to answer it.

"Hello this is Squall, how can I help you?"

"Squall," a small young voice Squall recognized was on the phone.

"Yes, Sora?"

"I miss you, and miss Nina said I could call you to make sure you were ok."

"Yes, I am ok, but I am in session right now can I call you right back?"

"I guess so…bye"

"Bye"

Squall hung up and walked back over to his chair. He sat back down and apologized to Arieth.

"I'm sorry my son missed me, and wanted to make sure I was alright."

"That's fine. I think it was cute he did that."

She continued with her life story. Squall continued to listen to her. She was pretty; her eyes were a golden brown that stood out against her tan skin. Her hair was dark brown that also helped bring out her eyes. When she finished, Squall talk to her about her past and how she felt, how it affected her life, what she had gained from the experience and if she felt like she had dealt with it. She thought each question over and answered with the truth. She said that she had learned from her past and it made her a strong willed person, with good character and independence.

Then they talked about the man who tried to rape her. She told Squall how he had been a friend of her late husband, Matt, and had always wanted to sleep with her but never got the chance. When Matt died he started following her around, and hadn't quit for three years. She had reported him twice; he had been in jail for three weeks then got out. She was getting ready to call the police again when he attacked her. They talked about it and she determined she was ok, just a little shaken up, but glad Squall had been around twice to save her. She also told Squall that the table the first met at was the table that her and her husband met at. They finished up and Squall asked if she felt like she needed another session and she said she was fine. She did however ask Squall to dinner Monday Night at seven. He agreed and they both went up stairs. He walked her to her car and then went to Sora who was sitting with Nina and Tidus.

Sora was happy to see him; he hugged Squall around the waist and wouldn't let go. Sora snuggled Squall's thigh and took in a big long breath, taking in Squall's colon. It reminded him of his father's, it made him feel safe.

Sora, Squall, Tidus, and Nina were sitting at a table in New Beginning. They were celebrating Squall's 21st birthday. Tidus had planned a special dinner, it was a supreme pizza, with some other snacks like hamburger and hotdogs. Tidus wasn't a very sophisticate friend. Desert would be out soon. It was Banana foster with a vanilla cake topped with a chocolate frosting and a mixed berry sauce. The restraunt was quieting down, people were leaving and finishing their meals. The table Squall was at was having a great time, they were laughing and telling jokes, but Sora was quite. Squall had been watching him but missed the single tear that fell down his face. This is what Sora's dad had been like on the last night he had seen him alive.

It was dark in the house. The party had ended three hours ago. Sora and Squall had been sleeping for two. Squall's phone began to ring, he woke from his light sleep immediately. He grabbed it off his night stand and answered it. He saw before he answered it that it was the Domestic Violence Center.

"Hello, what's wrong?"

"DCF is here. We need you, they want a kid. I already called Neil, but there was nothing he could do."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

Squall hung up and climbed out of bed, grabbing some jeans and a shirt on his way to the light switch. When he came out of his room changed, keys in hand, Sora was coming down his hall way.

"Where are you going?" his voice was frantic.

"Work, they need me. I'll be back really soon I promise. So go back to bed buddy." Squall said as he was starting to walk by Sora. He ruffled his long hair. Sora's hand clutched Squall's in a death grip.

"I want to go with you. Can I go?" Squall thought about it and finally agreed. He picked up Sora and his teddy bear and carried him to the car.

They arrived at the restraunt rather quickly because the traffic at four in the morning is always light. Squall opened the restraunt door, Sora was on his heels as usual. They rode the elevator door to the Domestic Violence Center. Kelly opened all the doors, a woman with shoulder length auburn hair and brown eyes was standing in the middle of the waiting room, pacing. She had brown plaid pants and a long sleeve brown plaid shirt. Her clip board matched her outfit, it was as brown as her eyes. Paper was on it, probably case files and a return order. She saw Squall and began to walk toward him and noticed Sora. Her hand on reflex reached for her badge, Squall held up his hand to stop her.

"I know a DCF worker when I see one. Your name is unimportant to me,"

She looked confused and looked at Sora,

"You must be Josh. You'll be coming with me, I'm taking you…"  
Squall stepped in front of Sora,

"That is my son. Josh is still in bed quarters."

She halted and looked at Squall.

"I was unaware that you had any children of your own."

Squall wasn't here to discuss his personal life with this woman.

"Why are you here for Josh?"

"The investigation didn't have enough supporting evidence. Nothing has been founded. His parents have earned custody back."

Squall was flabbergasted,

"Excuse you! His father physically abused him! He was…" Squall realized he was yelling and Sora was attacked to his leg shaking. He forced himself to calm down. Since he was the owner and head counselor he was the only person who could release children, and only him.

Squall motioned for her to follow him. Kelly took Sora. Squall pulled out his keys as he passed from the lobby to the halls. Three security guards passed Squall and Lynn, the DCF worker. Squall noticed her name on her badge when she tried to show it to him. They passed through a guarded door into the bedding hall for children. Squall found Josh's room and unlocked the door. Josh's lava lamp made the room have a blue glow. He was sleeping peacefully. Squall turned to Lynn,

"How about you let him finish the night out here. I'll have him ready for you about ten in the morning then you can take him back." Squall whispered so as not to wake the children

The worker looked at Squall like his was an idiot,

"Mr. Leonheart, I didn't come all the way out here at four in the morning waste my time waiting on you to return empty handed." Lynn spoke loudly enough to cause Josh to stir but not to awaken.

Squall scowled. This woman didn't care about the child or his safety, she only cared about herself. She could have cared less about putting Josh back with his abusers. Squalltold her to wait. He didn't want to give Josh up but he would be in serious legal trouble if he didn't. He would get something from the Child Protection and Interest Agency in the morning. He closed Josh's door quietly behind him self as he entered. He crouched down next to Josh's bed and shook him. When he was awake enough to know who was in his room, Squall spoke,

"I have to send you back to your parents."

Squall's face was grim and sullen, Josh's eyes widened and were loaded down with fear.

"What, why, how, who, why?" Josh bombarded Squall with single word questions.

"DCF and law enforcement have a his word against your word case. They are ordering me to send you back to your parents, and to make sure it happens a DCF worker is here to take you back. I'm so sorry and will do everything in my power to get you back."

With no concern for Squall and Josh's privacy, the DCF worker burst in.

"Time to leave!" she stated. She reached for Josh. Squall who was still crouching jumped up. He knew Josh was frightened and only slept in his boxers. Squall intercepted her hand. Squall glare was as cold as ice and as hard as steel.

"Not only is Josh not ready to leave but he is scared. It is my job to make him feel better so you need to leave the room. You may have the right to take him from my care, but I am still in charge of my center. I decide when he leaves."

Lynn glared but complied backing out of the room, never taking her eyes off Squall till the door was shut. Squall called Kelly at the front desk from the phone in Josh's room.

"Have a card with my cell and house number waiting for me when I get up there. Thanks"

Before she could answer Squall hung up the phone. He helped Josh pack after he got dressed in the bathroom. They walked out together, Lynn had walked back to the lobby. When they arrived in the lobby, Squall secretly handed Josh the card,

"You need anything, just call anytime. I will answer." Squall had told him this on his way to the lobby. Lynn took Josh but she had to pry him off of Squall. Josh left the building crying.

Josh returned the same way he left, crying and clinging to Squall. It was in the break time between lunch and dinner. Squall had been out in the restraunt talking to several of his waiters, he was switching their tables around, when Niles came over and whispered in his ear, he needed to go to the front door. When Squall pushed out of the Employees Only break room, his breath caught in his throat. Josh was sitting at a table, he was horribly beaten. His left eye was swollen shut, his right was barely open. Dried blood trailed from his nose to his mouth. His hair was matted with blood. His white shirt was red, and torn. Squall could seen the punctured skin. Josh 's arm looked like it might be broken. Three of his finger's on both hands were. He had only boxers on, they were torn but not as much as his shirt. Niles and Jeeves has taken appropriate actions and closed the blinds on all the windows. Josh stood up and limped over to Squall and to the best of his ability hugged Squall. Squall had seen countless beaten women, countless bruised children, but rarely did he see children this badly beaten. Squall lead Josh down to the Domestic Violence Center, Dr. Wayne Bryan was waiting for them. Three women sat in the waiting all gasped in union. The doctor's face paled. He immediately ran to Josh and began to look at the serious injuries, which were most of them. Josh was lead down to the emergency care room, where he would be for the next three days. Squalltold him he wouldn't call DCF until Monday. Squall was devastated that a young man had to take a beating for anyone to believe him.

About two hours later Squall was sitting in his office filling out a report, when Dr. Wayne walked in.

"Squall I got the boy into his room, he's fine. I cleaned him up. I found some semen on his boxers and put it in the lab. I got pictures of him. They are all in a folder locked up in my office. I will be back tomorrow to check up on him. I left my number with him if he needed anything."

Squall smiled. Dr. Wayne was about fifty nine. He had been friends with Squall's grandma. He was very caring, he did his job with passion and convection. Squall knew that Josh was in the hands of the best. After Dr. Wayne left, Squall stayed and finished writing for another hour. When he finished he put it in a file and left it on his desk. He locked all his door and went home. He wept like a baby when he got home. He cried like he had never cried before. Sora came in at some point and noticed him crying so he went down stairs and made a peanut butter sandwich. He very carefully cut it and carried it up stairs.

"Mom, always said that peanut butter chased away the blues." Sora said as he offered the sandwich to Squall. Squall's face lightened and he smiled,

"Your mom was a smart woman."

He remembered now why he loved children. Horrible things happen to children everyday, something horrible was happing to a child somewhere while he wept. But some child was somewhere else making a difference. He would stop the pain of children as much as he could so the child he helped would help another. Squall sat on his bed and shared a peanut butter sandwich with the best kid in his life.

When Squall went to sleep that night his mood had improved. Sora had made him laugh and smile. Squall was awoke from his dream by Sora,

"There is something in my closet. He said he wants to eat me"

Squall smiled. He remembered when he went to his Grams and told her that. She sat him on her knee and said,

"Squall, I will get rid of those monsters in your closet very easily."

Then his Grams went into her closet got her baseball bat and 'beat' the 'monsters' out of his closet.

So Squall got Sora on his knee and said,

"Sora, I have the very simplest way to teach that monster never to come back. I though my Grams had taught him that lesson when I was a kid but I guess he needs to be re-taught." Squall went into his Closet picked up his Grams bat and had Sora follow him back into his room. Sora sat on the bed as Squall went into the closet. Squall closed the door and began to swing the bat. He hit the walls, shelves and hanger bar. The noise in the small space was deafening but Squall took it. When he walked back out Sora had a look of shock on his face. Then once again Squall quoted his grandma, the smartest, most cleaver woman he knew of,

"That monster isn't ever going to come back while you are young. I taught him just why not to scare little children, because I'll whop them one good, if they do."

Sora laughed and was content so like Squall did when he was young he slept peacefully, because the person he trusted had just beat the monster away for good.

On Monday Squall did just like he said, as soon as he arrived in his office he called DCF. They responded very quickly, a worker was at the Domestic Violence Center within the hour. Sora was sitting in the play room playing, He had two peanut butter sandwiches in his lunchbox. Carrie, the DCF worker, was one Squall was friends with and had helped him in the past. While Squall showed Carrie the file of Josh's case, Sora was playing with his castle but he wasn't alone. Josh was in there with him. They were laughing, and having a good time. Sora had a way of taking the sadness from a room and replacing it with joy. Sora gave Josh his sandwich and told Josh how Squall had wept for him. Squall showed Carrie the evidence for about half an hour, her face was emotionless the whole time.

"What happen to this boy was horrible. I sure Lynn did everything her power to make him safe."

"I'm sorry Carrie but Lynn was very unconcerned for Josh's safety. She was more concerned with not leaving empty handed. She wouldn't even let Josh finish out the night."

Carrie nodded and looked at Squall,

"Well now there is enough evidence to convict both family members."

Squall nodded and rolled his eyes as if to say no-shit.

Squall after Carrie left went home and got dressed for his date with Arieth. She was early, because Squall arrived ten minutes early himself.

"Well, you are very prompt I see." Squall said as he smiled at her.

She thought his smile was his most attractive feature. It made his face brighten, and it brought out his personality. They had a lovely dinner of . Arieth loved the meal, Squall had made some inquires to what she got that day and made a decision off of that. Squall had the same meal as Arieth. Sora had been left alone with Squall's twenty year old sister's son. His nephew, had been born when he was five. Squalland his sister kept in touch. She had been raised by their parents. The only reason Tidus and Nina couldn't watch Sora is that they left the day after the party to go visit Nina's parents. Cloud, gave Squall a bad feeling, but he shunned the feeling. They talked about their childhoods and swapped stories. Arieth told some funny stories about her life and told Squall that raising Craig wasn't as easy as raising Sora. Squall argued the point with a smile on his face and pausing to laugh. Arieth was the best woman he had ever met, after his grandmother. Squall enjoyed his night with Arieth, after dinner they went to a movie. Squall wouldn't be home till one in the morning.

Cloud had been watching Sora for one hour before it was time for him to take a shower. Sora knew and didn't need to be reminded by Cloud, who reminded him anyway. Sora climbed into the shower and was showering when Cloud began to knock at the locked door. He told Sora that he needed to open up, because he thought that Sora needed help bathing. Sora told him he didn't, but Cloud demanded. Sora got frightened, but didn't have anything to make him feel safer. So he continued to shower with Cloud pounding on the door, but Sora didn't budge in his determination, not to open the door. He finished showering and got dressed, but something inside of him, an inner voice, told him not to leave the safety of the bathroom. Micheal bothered Sora for another five hours before he went silent. Sora was sitting in the bathroom, trying to read one of Squall's books he had left in the bathroom, when a loud and sudden bang made him jump up. The noise came again, making Sora real nervous. The door broke with a loud report, wood splinters went everywhere. A loud thud told Sora that Cloud had dropped his weapon, giving Sora something else in his favor. His own strength was no where near Cloud's but he was younger and smaller. Cloud charged in and missed Sora. Cloud crashed into the tub, grunting as he fell into it. Sora fled the bathroom and ran down to the kitchen, just like the inner voice told him to. He ran in and Baron was lying on the ground sleeping , but stirred when Sora entered. Sora ran behind the island in the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He squatted and waited, the he heard the door hit the wall behind it.

"Where are you? I will find you, I will teach you" Cloud said in his shorted breath.

Baron growled, a deep furious growl, the growl to warn Cloud he was in charge and would protect Sora. Cloud tried to move past Baron and earned himself a attack. Baron barked and snapped at Cloud, till he was back out of the kitchen. Cloud tried three more times and on two of his tries had blood drawn. Sora heard Cloud leave the hallway into the kitchen, he let out a sigh of relief but sucked his breath back in when he heard Baron let out a yelp and then a whimper before becoming silent. Cloud muttered a curse under his breath. Again his weapon clattered to the ground, causing Sora to grip his harder. Cloud came around the island, and saw Sora, who had ever intention of protecting himself until it came time to do so. The knife clattered to the floor, Cloud approached Sora. He grabbed his long hair and pulled him along into the living room.

"This room will have to do for now brat. I am going to teach you a lesson for not listening to me."

Sora began to cry, not a loud baby cry but a sob, a sob of defeat. Then just as Cloud began to take off Sora's pajamas The dead bolt clicked and the door opened. Cloud quickly stepped away from, Sora.

"Hello uncle Squall. I was just getting Sora here ready for bed."

Sora was now terrified, not only was Squall going to fall for Cloud deceitful lies but Cloud was staying the night and had access to Sora all night. Squall raised his eyebrow, and glanced at his moose clock in the living room.

"Your getting him ready at one. His bed time was three hours ago. " That's when Squall noticed the tears,

"Why is he crying?"

"I let him stay up and finish at movie and he didn't want to go to bed. So he started to cry."

Squall also now noticed the blood, his senses were on high alert now, he noticed everything. The small trail of blood up the stairs from the kitchen then back again. The cheap smile Cloud was offering, the TV was off, Sora's other clothes weren't in the room. Also Sora could dress himself and was very strict himself on his bedtime.

"Give Sora his shirt, then he and I are going into my study and I'll get his story." Squall said with suspension lining his voice.

"Of course Uncle Squall." Cloud still had on the cheap smile and began to turn his back to face Sora when Squall said,

"Stop, Sora will get his shirt when he walks by you. He will look me in the eyes the whole time too."

So Sora did as he was old too. Squall did this knowing, that if anything had happened Cloud could silence the child with a cold stare. They walked into Squall's study and Sora told him everything from the bathroom, to what he walked in on. Sora didn't know what was going to happen to him, and didn't understand. Squalltold Sora to stay in his study while he talked to Cloud.

Squall walked out glaring. His glare was so hard and cold Cloud's face lost it's color.

"You get out of my house right now. You and I both know what was about to happen here, you are a sick child and your mother will here about this but you leave my house right now, you are no longer welcome here. Also you DAMN well better stay away from Sora or I'll make you wish you had." With every word Squall took a step forward leaving Cloud against the fire place. When Squall finished Cloud left quickly closing the door loudly on his way out. Sora and Squall stayed up the rest of the night cleaning up the mess and talking about what happened. Squalltold Sora that he acted just like he should have. He told Sora how freeze up was natural, that he did just like he should have and delayed. Sora went to sleep with Squall that night because he said it would make him feel better. It did, he felt safe with Squall's arm over him. Squall had saved him from many evil, Squall was like his real dad. He would move a mountain to protect him. Squall was now no longer Squall his guardian but Squall his dad.

!#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$&

I want to thank all the people who commented before, hope to see your comments again.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Any comments you have please post them in a comment with any improvement. DON'T FLAME ON ME!!! That is all.


	3. Chapter 3

1_**Chapter 3: Haunting Pasts  
**_Squall was sitting in his office. It had been two years since Josh walked through his office door and reported what had happened to him. It had been one year since Josh's family members had been put in jail. Josh had just finished his last session with Squall, and Squall was closing his case. It didn't take very long for Josh's parents to be convicted. The evidence that he brought with him on as he called it the worst day of his life proved to help him have the best day of his life. Squall and Aries had been dating now for about two years. They were engaged to marry in four months. She moved in to Squall's house, and Craig did too. Both Craig and Sora were at school, waiting on Aries to pick them up. Sora had enrolled in school two months after he had been dropped off at Squall's front door. Squall stamped the file closed and turned out his office light. He locked the doors, and went down to the file room, where he locked up Josh's file, with all the other closed files.

The bell rang, school was dismissed. Sora waited for the larger part of the three floors to leave the school before he began to walk toward the parking lot. Sora saw Craig's broad shoulders and muscular arms. Craig's short brown hair and blue eyes were looking at another young man with red hair and green eyes. The red hair young man had two younger twins behind him, about Sora's age. Sora was coming up on the side of the young men,  
"…I'll help you with your study today. Mom will take us back to Squall's and we can study. My little bro can entertain your brothers." Sora caught the end of the conversation as he walked up.  
"Speaking of Sora here he comes. Sora this is Scott and his two brothers who are your age Matt and Justin." Sora looked at all the boys. Matt had shorter hair than Justin and his eyes were a darker shade of blue than Justin's. Sora smiled and greeted all the boys. A honk made Sora and Craig turn around. Aries waved from her car, to the boys. She was happy Craig was making friends at the new school, maybe he would give Sora some friends. Sora was a loner and always looked so bored. But he enjoyed hanging out with his dad more than anything. Craig approached the car, with Sora not far behind. Three boys followed Sora and Craig, Aries had an odd feeling about the boys, like she was missing something about them.  
"Hey mom, this is Justin and Matt, the twins and there brother Scott." Craig said as he climbed into the front seat of the car.  
"Hello boys, I'm Aries. Hope you enjoy your time at our house." The boys nodded and didn't speak, this made Aries have a stronger feeling that she was missing something.

The boys walked into Craig's house immediately they could see the difference between their house and this one. Theirs was new and modern, this one was old and had a young style to it. This house had a motherly touch to it, with a masculine twist. As they walked by a door a man stepped out, his slightly curly blond hair brought out his bright green eyes. He was as broad as Craig. He had a warm smile and very knowing eyes, Scott knew that this man worked in a field were he saw things that were horrible. But he was able to find good and make things right, which made his smile welcoming and trusting.  
"Hello, I'm Squall, Sora's father. I own this house. Hope you like it. I decorated it with some help from my dear grandma who passed away years ago and Aries. Any food you want is yours and don't mind my very people friendly dog Baron."  
The man didn't even hesitate to welcome the boys into his home, Scott saw behind him into a beautiful study. Book shelves full of books, a large wooden desk with a computer on it and papers scattered around, but in piles. The carpet was a deep calming blue, a moose statue stood in the far corner. That was all Scott could see as he walked by. The living room was spacey and had a very renaissance look. A long red wood table was in the dining room, with elegantly designed chairs. From what Scott could tell the designs were Celtic. He loved the clets, they had beautiful things. The kitchen was huge and a smaller version of the table in the dining room was against the wall across from the appliances. An island sat in the middle of the kitchen, the obsidian counter tops were glossy and beautiful with the dark brown cabinets. The counters made an L-shape around the kitchen. A flat top stove sat next to an indoor grill. The shining sliver fridge was next to the sink which was on the bottom half of the L. Counter top appliances sat randomly on the counter tops, not one was plugged in. A set of two pantries sat on the wall opposite to the sink. A door, probably to a basement wasn't far from the stove. Craig set his book bag down by the table, he told Sora to entertain the others while he and Scott study. Craig unloaded his books on the table. As Scott was getting ready to jump into his work Squall walked into the kitchen. He seemed to be in his domain and tenseness Scott got from him at the door faded in the kitchen.  
"Would you boys like anything to eat? I found that food helps you to study."  
Craig smiled but declined, as did Scott, Squall shrugged and walked over to the stove he turned it on and got a pan out. He looked back at Craig,  
"Will your friends be staying for dinner?"  
Craig looked at Scott, who didn't know how to answer, if he called his dad he might be able to stay but if he didn't he would be beaten for not calling. So he said he would stay for dinner and called his dad on his cell.  
"Dad, I am going to have dinner over at my friend's house if that is ok."  
"You rotten shit face brat, You ask, you don't tell. I'll let you off this time but you better damn well ask next time."  
Scott hung up and went back to studying. Squall had heard some of what his father had said and was suspicious but let it go. He had seen many of cases like this one and would watch it closely.  
After dinner, Squall took Scott and the twins home. He walked the boys to the door, he knew that his presence would shock the father enough not to assault his boys.  
"Hello, I am sorry my boys wasted your food and your time. I'll try to keep that to a minimum" The father's voice was thick with a country accent.  
"It was no problem, I like having kids over. Being a chef, I like to cook. My names Squall. You have some smart boys there. Scott is good in math and reading. His writing could use some work, but I have no room to talk." Squall let out a small laugh. He was testing the man.  
"Don't let their school book knowledge fool you my boys can be pretty stupid at times. I'm Chuck by the way."  
"Well, Chuck, every child can have their stupid moments. I'm afraid I have to get going though, I work down at New Beginning if you want to stop by." Squall smiled as Chuck nodded and said he would come down for lunch. The man had failed Squall's test, he would now be under close surveillance from Squall and so would his kids.

It was Saturday, three days after Scott's first time at Craig's he really like that house. It was warm and welcoming, Squall was a funny guy and a great dad. Aries was an awesome mom, almost like his mom, before she died. Scott was making lunch for the twins when he heard a loud crash, he finished their grilled cheeses and walked to the back of the house. He saw the broken glass before he saw his brothers. He saw then standing outside on the basketball court behind the house. He saw the basket ball sitting in the hall. He looked at them and raised an eyebrow.  
"I broke it." Justin piped up. Scott knew that Matt did it that moment. But Justin would never let Matt get in trouble. "Both of you go to your room while I clean this up. Your food can go with you to your room." Scott said as he turned to go get the broom and vacuum. He locked his brothers door. He had made it a locking door to protect them, his father could beat down a steel door if it was locked. Scott spent an hour picking up the glass. He cleaned most of it up by hand and then he swept almost all the rest up and what the broom missed the vacuum didn't. He threw it all away and waited for their dad to get home. When he got home Scott fixed him dinner and began to speak to him nervously,  
"I had an accident playing ball with myself."  
His dad looked at him with dark eyes,  
"What happened?" He said as he rose from his chair. Scott took to long to answer and his dad yelled,  
"What happened?"  
"I broke the window by the back of the house. I threw the ball and missed the hoop."  
His dad slapped him then pushed him, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.  
"Do you know how much that is going to Fing cost me!!!! I can't believe you were so stupid. I'd expect that from your no good brothers, but you , have you been taken lessons from them!!!!" He stormed off leaving hi son on the ground. The night was quite from then on.

Craig was hanging out with Scott. Their brothers were in the backyard playing together.  
"Your brothers are cute and funny." Craig said not looking up from his book.  
"Try living with them and you wouldn't say such a thing." Scott laughed with Craig. Squall was at work and Aries was at the publisher's office typing her next book. The kids were home alone. Craig and Scott finished their homework and began playing a game of cards, like they always did after homework. Craig was losing when the phone rang. He answered it.  
"Hello,"  
"Hey, Craig, this is Squall. I am going to be late, so make sure Sora is taken care of me. Oh and try not to be such a sore loser."  
Craig gapped at the phone,  
"How did you know I was losing?"  
"Because Scott is a good card player. You aren't the best might I remind you" Squall laughed; he could see the glare on Craig's face. It was the same as Aries's. Craig hung up and looked at Scott. He ran and tackled him. Scott let out a grunt as he hit the ground.  
"Punk, I'll show you for beating me." Craig gave Scott a playing punch in the arm. The smile never left his face, but Scott cringed when Craig hit him. Craig's smile and happy face faded into concern,  
"Are you ok dude?"  
Scott knew he had slipped up and need to correct his mistake.  
"Yea, just fine. Needed you distracted so I could do this..."  
Scott pushed Craig and landed on top of him. The two boys wrestled until they were worn out. Craig climbed off of his friend and lay next to him on the kitchen floor panting. The twins and Sora walked in, as usual Justin wasn't smiling like Sora and Matt were. As Sora walked by Craig grabbed his leg and pulled him down, Scott caught his drift and grabbed both his brothers. Matt let out a yelp of surprise as he fell to the floor. Justin stumbled and landed on Sora and Craig, both of which grunted when he landed on them. All five boys began to wrestle, Baron joined in, playfully barking and pawing all the boys. When Aries walked through the door with Nina, she raised an eyebrow to the noise. When the two women entered the kitchen they were also brought to the ground. Nina was surprised but quickly recovered; she crawled away and got assaulted by Baron. He was licking her and pawing her.  
"Stop that, you silly dog." Nina pushed away Baron's face and stood up.  
Nina rescued Aries and they both took several steps back and watched the children play.

Scott, Justin and Matt had been coming to Craig's for a week now. Scott's grades were slowly but very surely rising. Scott's moods had also improved. He smiled more and looked like a teenager. Justin had no problem with Craig, as long as he continued to do some good, but Sora, that was another story. He was stealing his brother away from him. He hated it.  
It was after school again and the three boys were in the back yard playing bad mitten. Or trying to, one should correct. Sora thought it would be better to steal the ball away from Matt every chance he got. The game barely got started and Justin was already in a really foul mood. Perfect. Just perfect.  
"Sora! Give it back!" Matt whined with his arms stretched above his head. Justin stalked over and kicked Sora's shin. It affectively made the silver haired kid drop the blue bouncy ball. Sora bent over; wincing and Matt ran up to him.  
"Jeez, you don't have to kick so hard." Sora grumbled. Matt's brows came down in concern as he lightly tapped the spot Justin had injured. Sora let out a hiss and Matt with drew sharply.  
Sora gave him a glare. Matt looked up at his twin. They shared a look before Justin threw his racquet and stomped away. The other boys literally jumped as it hit the fence and bounced off. Matt crossed his arms and sat down next to Sora quietly.  
Justin threw open the door, scowling and stomping to where Scott was. He knew that look Matt threw him. That look he always hated from his brothers. The "Please-Don't-Do this" look. Justin could feel his heart steadily break against his ribs. It's bad enough I live with those words… He walked into the room where Scott was throwing popcorn at his brunet companion.  
His blue eyes darkened for a moment. Scott looked, for just a moment, purely happy. Like he should always be. Just a normal teenage boy with a normal teenage friend. Justin was glad, but he also felt like weeping. Why was it that Justin should be left behind? Oh, that's right… Because he is the cause of all of this.

Justin cupped the crying boy's ears. "Shh…" he whispered, rocking the brunet back and forth. Little fingers held tight to the cotton clothing, bandages already peeling. Sobs shook his tiny body and Justin closed his eyes tight in the dark room. "PLEASE STOP!" the voice screamed. Justin heard the splatter down the hall.  
Matt clung on to his twin, ears buzzing in deafness. Justin rocked him back and forth. "Scott's okay, Scott's okay, Scott's okay, Scott's okay…" he mumbled, voice losing the battle from behind their door. Matt watched Justin move his lips, but couldn't hear the words because Justin wouldn't let him.  
A shrill wail silenced the house. The air sung in tightness unseen by human eyes. A coppery smell drifted from down the hall. The light, harsh yellow, spilled from under the locked door. The moon was covered in Scotts. All was dark… All was deathly silent. Except for the sobs, and the mumbles, and the whimpers… and the wind.

It was the afternoon after the beating. Matt and Scott started hanging out with Sora and Craig. Before Sora Matt and Justin had been inseparable, now Matt barely hung out with his brother alone. Justin was sitting under a tree at school, it was lunch time. After lunch was always recess. Justin would stay under this tree until classes started again. Justin was a loner and never really talked to anyone and had no real friends. His brothers were the only people who understood him. No one else could identify what he was going through. Why he was always so angry and upset. He and his brother swore to stick together; they swore to protect each other and to keep the family secret.  
Matt and Sora were playing with each other by the playground; Justin could see them from where he sat. He saw Sora pin Matt down and Matt let out a yelp of pain. Before anyone could even act, Justin was flying towards Sora. He tackled Sora,  
"Get away from my little brother!!" he yelled as he began to punch Sora. It was a storm of hands, arms, and legs. A teacher noticed the commotion and rushed over. She grabbed at Justin but received scratches all down her arms. She growled but took the pain, as she ripped Justin from Sora. She had seen the whole thing, Sora and Matt were playing and Sora tripped and landed on Matt, who let out a yelp. Then Justin was beating Sora. Another teacher grabbed Sora and took him to the nurses. He was bleeding from the scratches on his face, arms and neck. Justin was lead to the dean's office where he would wait while his brother was called.  
When Scott was called out of class he was surprised. What had he done? He couldn't think of anything that he could have done, that would earn him a trip to the dean's office. When he saw his brother sitting in the chair of the dean he let out a sigh of relief. But knew something was wrong. "Your brother was caught fighting. He really hurt the other young man, Sora Francilo." Scott's head snapped to his brother, he gave him a questioning look. "Your father has already been informed. He said he would deal with your brother's attitude and his misbehavior problem." Scott's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't believe they called his dad; Justin was going to be in a lot of trouble. Scott looked at Justin with a look of sadness and asked to be released back to class.

Dinner that night was as silent as death. The air was heavy and thick. Their dad rarely ate dinner with them. He was normally not even home, but he had taken off of work early to 'deal' with Justin. After dinner the boys all did dishes, none spoke. Their backs were straight and stiff. The dishes were the loudest noise in the house. When the boys finished washing the dishes and dried them, their dad told Matt and Scott to go to their rooms. Matt's eyes widened and Scott hesitated. "Now…!" their dad yelled. Scott opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a glare. Scott took Matt by the hand and led him upstairs. Justin heard the doors click closed. Justin was left alone, with his father. "You got in a fight today." His father had made a statement not a question but Justin nodded anyway. His father stood, Justin gulped but kept his head looking at the table. A groan came from behind them, both Justin and his dad turned to see Scott looking around the corner. His father shot over to where Scott was and picked him up by the throat. "I told you to go to your Fing room, but here you are in the living room. Do you want to watch me punish your brother, do you enjoy it." Scott was slammed against the wall several times, knocking the breath out of him. His dad opened the front door and threw Scott onto the front lawn. He slammed the door and locked it. Scott ran back to the door and banged on it, yelling for his father to stop, that Justin didn't need to be punished. Any neighbors who saw this didn't even think about it, it was a normal thing for them. Nothing new, they didn't even take the time to listen to the boy anymore. Even the crime watch that drove by didn't think about the boy outside. Scott heard his brother yell, and beg for it to stop, but their father wouldn't, he never did and never would. If anything the pleas and begs made him beat you harder. After about two hours, after the neighbors went to sleep, after everyone stopped listening to the yells, after the beating had stopped and their father had gone to bed, Justin opened the door. He his eye was black, he lip was split; he had many other bruises and cuts all over him. Scott's heart came into his throat as he looked at his brother. "Oh…Justin…" Justin whimpered and fell into his brother's arms. He quickly led his brother into the kitchen where he began to clean his brother up. A chair and several dishes were broken but nothing serious or important was broken in the house. He didn't want his brother to talk but he had to know, "What made you fight little brother?" Justin's voice was hoarse from yelling, Scott had to concentrate to hear him. "I was upset about you being beaten and I thought Sora was hurting Matt. I feel so left out and alone."  
"You aren't alone, my and Matt are your brothers, we would never leave you. We love you"  
After he cleaned his brother up and bandaged up the serious wounds, he carried him upstairs. When he opened the door the bedroom he shared with Matt, Justin was almost asleep in his arms. He carefully set his brother down on his bed and left the room. His heart was broken, why would his father get joy from beating innocent children. Children who trusted him and looked up to him for advice and support. He felt like he could have stopped the beatings, he could be a better older brother for Justin and Matt but yet, he couldn't keep taking blows for them. It was slowly killing him. He wondered, if the soul could be stained with blood from bleeding too much.

The next day Justin didn't go to school, he had been in a bad 'bike' accident. So everyone was lead to believe but after school Scott needed someone to watch the twins, he had something he couldn't miss, so Craig volunteered to watch the twins. Like normal Aries would pick them all up and then they would stay at Squall's till Scott and his father came to pick them up. But today Scott was picked up by his dad early in the day, so they could get ready. On their way to their destination, they dropped Justin off.  
Justin walked up, with much difficulty, to Squall's door and knocked. He was the first there, Squall was home alone. Aries was waiting at the publishers for school to end. Squall gasped slightly when he opened the door, Justin known why spoke on instinct,  
"I feel of my bike and rolled down a hill. It's nothing and I'll be better soon."  
Squall nodded making Justin lower his defenses. School wouldn't be out for another hour, so Squall offered Justin the couch to sleep on. He gladly accepted his offer. When he was fast asleep, Squall moved in for a closer look, these where not wounds from a bike ride and rolling down a hill. Squall called Nina over to get a second opinion. She agreed fully with Squall, and they took some pictures with her digital camera. They also went into Squall's office and began drawing up a file on the boys. Squall had already started one, Nina looked over and told him her opinion.  
"These boys are being physically abused. From what I can see, there are no signs of sexual assault. Maybe some mental abuse, but theses boys are in danger. Squall you have enough evidence to report this to DCF and law enforcement. If neither of them act we know the C.I.P.A will act. What do you want to do?"  
Squall pondered in what to do and told Nina he would wait till tomorrow, he would take a look at the brothers and if he saw any more marks tomorrow he would strike. She nodded but said she thought he should act today. He wanted to, and something inside of him told him to act, while the boys were at his house. Squall and Nina talked about it for an hour, then just as Squall picked up his cell phone to call, his study door open, it was Sora. It ran and hugged Squall,  
"Dad, I am getting an award tomorrow at the ceremony for being the smartest kid in my class!"   
Sora was full of joy and happiness, Squall couldn't help but smile,  
"That's great Sora. I will be at the ceremony for sure. What time is it?"  
"Seven, there will be dinner and everything, but the school food is no where near the awesomeness of your cooking so if you don't mid dad can we eat here before we go?"  
"Sure, I don't mind at all."  
Sora ran out of Squall's study and went to play with Matt. Craig was upstairs playi9ng his video games. Nina decide dot go home to Jacob and told Squall that if he wanted her to come back he just had to call. He agreed ad was sitting at his desk looking out at his private garden. It was a place he could sit if he ever need to think, he grandmother had used it regularly. He was brought out of his thought by Sora,  
"Dad, look at what me and Matt drew, picture of our families."  
Squall looked at Sora's and smiled, Sora was a great artist, his picture had all four of his family members. All of them were smiling. In the background were faded people, two a male and a female. It was night time, in both pictures. The sky was clear and full of stars, which was what the face on the two people were made out of. The moon was a bluish white.  
"Is that your real parents?" Squall asked as he pointed to the ghosts.  
Sora nodded but the happiness was now gone from his face. Then Squall looked at Matt's picture. It had the four member's of his family in it. Squall could tell which one was him and Justin, Scott was the tallest one in the picture. He was holding what looked like a first aid kit, he was not smiling, nor was Justin, both boys had some blood on them. Matt's father on the other hand was a black figure. The house was also a reddish color, the moon had a red tint to it as well. Squall had been trained to read these kinds of pictures and knew what it meant but he couldn't do it. He set both pictures on his desk, 

Scott stood next to his father. They were at twilight cemetery, where his mother was buried. Scott's father looked blankly at his wife's grave. Scott sometimes called it his dad's grave too. The day his mom had died part of his dad died. While his mom was pregnant Scoot was happy, he want siblings but then she died giving birth to them. Scott had been so mad at the twins, how could something so small and innocent cause so much grief. But the twins redeemed themselves when on their first birthday, they both wrapped their arms around the grave of their mother and at the same time said their first word.  
"Mama"  
This single action made Scott feel horrible for hating his siblings. They would never here her laugh or see her beautiful smile. But his mother hadn't died like he thought she had. She lived on in all of her children, in Matt because of his kind nature and smile. In Justin by the protective nature and assertiveness, in himself by his strength and laugh. Her boys together made her alive again. She had said that very thing to him in a dream once. The night after the twins hugged her grave.  
That same day, his mom came back to life, his father died. He would never forgive the twins. Scott didn't know why that action killed his father but it did. Their father began to blame them for everything, and hurt them. Then he started to hurt Scott. Now Scott took the pain for the twins, he did it because he had to keep his mother alive. If one of them died his mother would die again, this time for good.   
They never understood that, or came to the grave but they knew that their mother loved them. She had appointed him to protect them and he wouldn't fail his mother. She gave her life so her children could live. Scott would do the same, only so his mother could live on. 

After Sora left the room Squall picked up the phone, just as he started dialing, Sora came back into the room.  
"Dad, Scott is here. I woke Justin up."  
Squall sighed and hung up the phone, Justin hadn't eaten dinner with Matt and Sora. Squall walked out and greeted Scott,  
"Hello, your brothers were fine and I enjoy having them over but I need to ask you something. Come into my study for a minute."  
Scott looked nervous, like he knew what Squall was going to ask. Scott went into the room first and Squall closed the door.  
"I have a suspicion but need you to tell me what happened to your brother."  
"He fell off his bike, big wreck." Scott's answer was fast and very short. Almost like it was rehearsed. Squall nodded knowing that he was lying, but unless he could get the boy to tell him something he could only start an investigation, which could help but it would take long and could cost one or all of the boy their lives.  
"I can't help you unless you help me. If you ever need help my door is open and you have my number." Squall smiled and lead him out of his study. When the boys left Squall sighed, if only the truth could be voiced.

Craig and his family had been gone for a week now, they were on a family camping trips in the mountains. Scott's dad hadn't been gone on vacation, in fact he was running on over time. Every time they sneezed in a way he didn't like he beat them bloody. The twins were his main target but Scott kept getting in his way. Scott was sitting on his bed thinking and crying about how hopeless his situation seemed. He couldn't think of anyway to save both himself and the twins. Everyone in his life always left him to this situation, no one ever saw what he had to put up with or what was happening. He thought about what Squall had said to him, he thought Squall saw it and would save him. Then it struck him: Squall! Of course, he worked as a domestic violence counselor and Scott knew what was happening was domestic violence. Maybe Squall could save him. Scott waited till his dad was fast asleep before he threw all of his blanket, tied together, out his window. Once they were out he began his dissent to the ground. Scott prayed his dad wouldn't wake up so not only he would be safe but the twins. Scott had only a torn t-shirt and shorts on. He didn't have time to go down stairs and get his shoes. Craig and his family were coming home tonight so Scott ran as fast as he could go toward their house ten miles away. H had to walk every so often but he didn't run for very long because he knew time was important. Sweat stung in his open wounds and the running was opening some recently closed wounds. Blood, sweat and tears covered his face. He was crying because if he didn't make it to Squall's house before his dad woke up he would lose the twins and he didn't want that. The exertion from running was killing his bruised and broken ribs. It was hard to run fast because his ankle had been twisted when he was pushed down the stairs.

Squall and his family had just returned from their lovely trip up into the mountains. Sora was fast asleep in his room upstairs. They were laughing and smiling still when Scott came rushing into the house covered in dirt and sweat. He was out of breath and hunched over trying to get it back. Squall could see the wounds and blood all over Scott. When Scott took a step forward Squall caught him,  
"What happened to you Scott, did your dad do this to you?" Squall asked.  
Aries had run to the kitchen to get towels. Squall told Craig to call Nina and the police when Scott nodded still out of breath.  
"Where are your brothers?"  
"…With….my…….dad…" Scott replied with much difficulty. Squall led Scott to the couch and told Craig to watch him. Nina came bursting through the door as Squall was exiting it.  
"What happened? Craig was all upset and panicking, he said his friend was hurt and.." Nina stopped when she saw the look on Squall's face.  
"His brothers are still in danger, we have to save them. Are the police in route?" Nina nodded to Squall's question.  
The two climbed into Squall's car and drove very quickly over to Scott's house. Nina strapped her gun on, while they were driving. The two approached the house with caution. When the got to the door Squall tried the door handle and to his surprise it was open. The house was silent, nothing moved. Squall rounded the corner into the kitchen, it was dark. Nina's hand never left her holstered gun. As the began to ascend up the stairs a light came on and an older man's voice could be heard yelling for Scott. The man let out a cry of rage and stomped over to the other side of the hall to another room. Cries of children and the sound of objects hitting the wall could be heard. Nina and Squall rushed up the stairs into the room. Scott's father turned around when Nina kicked in the locked door.  
"Put your mother fucking hands in the mother fucking air!" Nina shouted drawing her gun and aiming at Scott's dad. The twins were behind him and started to run for Squall but he stopped them with a kick of his leg. Matt flew into the wall, leaving a trail of blood as he slid down the wall. Justin let out a cry of fright and ran to his brothers side. A single shot range through the air as Harry moved toward his children,  
" Next time I won't miss so don't move!" Nina's voice was full of venom and seriousness. Squall ran toward Matt and checked out his wound, it wasn't life threatening but the concert wall had done some damage. The sound of sirens could be heard outside and the sound of police rushing up the stairs was evident from the room. Nina moved out of the way so the police could arrest the abuser. Squall took Justin and Matt, who had more wounds than Scott, to the hospital. Aries met him there with Scott. Now the family could be healed and the could finally put the past in the past.

!#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$& !#$&  
I want to thank all the people who commented before, hope to see your comments again.  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Any comments you have please post them in a comment with any improvement. DON'T FLAME ON ME!!! That is all.


	4. Author's note

AUTHOR"S NOTE

_**AUTHOR"S NOTE**_

Ok, to my loyal readers, I am really really sorry about not update this story sooner but, my puppy chewed my laptop cord so it is dead. I need to buy a new one and have been meaning to but right now life is chaotic, so I promise to update before October (I hope). Thanks for being loyal.

Oh, For the Fan fiction people there will be _**NO**_ pairing between Squall (Alex) and Sora (David). I mean come o, he is a domestic violence counselor!! He put child molester away for a living. Now Sora (David) might get a boyfriend maybe but he will not be having intercourse with Squall!! Thanks for being loyal.


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